SEBI allows Gauhati Stock Exchange exit from bourse business

Mumbai: Market regulator SEBI on Tuesday allowed Gauhati Stock Exchange (GSE) to exit stock bourse business. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said GSE has substantially complied with the conditions for its exit as per the regulator's framework and therefore "is a fit case to allow exit."

According to an order, SEBI said GSE complied with the regulator's exit guidelines and made payment of necessary dues to the regulator, including 10 percent of the listing fee and the annual regulatory fee.

Among other things, SEBI said, the stock exchange has complied with the guidelines wherein it has stated that there are no arbitration disputes /investor complaints pending against it.

"From the valuation report and undertaking of GSE, it is observed that all the known liabilities have been brought out and that there is no other future liability that is known as on date," SEBI said.

The regulator has asked the GSE to change its name and not to use the expression "stock exchange" or any variant of this expression in its name, among other things.

SEBI, in May 2012, had issued the guidelines for exit of stock exchanges. This contained details of the conditions for exit of de-recognised or non-operational stock exchanges interalia including treatment of assets of the bourse and a facility of dissemination board for companies listed exclusively on such exchanges, while taking care of the interest of Investors.

Following this, GSE made a request to SEBI for its exit as stock exchange in March 2013. Earlier, SEBI had allowed Hyderabad Securities and Enterprise, Coimbatore Stock Exchange, Inter-connected Stock Exchange, Ludhiana Stock Exchange, Cochin Stock Exchange and Bangalore Stock Exchange to exit as a bourse.